Ronald Rivas

This paper traces the diffusion of "just-in-time" production in the Japanese automotive sector, as reflected by inventory reductions in a sample of 52 suppliers and assemblers. The authors show that most inventory reductions occurred during a remarkable burst of activity starting in the late 1960s. Companies affiliated with Toyota were the early adopters but were followed very quickly by others in Japan. By the late 1970s nearly all of the firms in the sample had made drastic reductions in inventory. Work-in-process and suppliers' finished goods fell by nearly two thirds on average. (This paper was prepared for the IMVP Research Briefing Meeting, June 1995, and supersedes "Inventory Reduction and Productivity Growth of Japanese Automotive Manufacturers, 1966-1988", listed in the IMVP 1993 abstracts.)